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WE INVEST IN EARLY-STAGE FRONTIER TECH SOLUTIONS FROM EMERGING MARKETS THAT CAN
BENEFIT CHILDREN AND YOUTH

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Venture Fund

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 * Funding & Support
   
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OUR IMPACT

 * 146
   
   
   
   INVESTMENTS IN EMERGING ECONOMIES

 * 86
   
   
   
   COUNTRIES WITH INVESTMENTS

 * 43%
   
   
   
   FUNDED COMPANIES WITH FEMALE FOUNDERS

 * 18
   
   
   
   CERTIFIED DIGITAL PUBLIC GOODS

 * 11.6M
   
   
   
   INVESTMENT AMOUNT IN USD

 * 7
   
   
   
   STARTUP EXITS

 * 

 * Data Science+AI
   
   
   AFINIDATA: PROVIDING ACCESS TO QUALITY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
   
   Afinidata, Guatemala
   
   
   683,625
   
   UNIQUE BENEFICIARIES
   
   
   10
   
   COUNTRIES OF DEPLOYMENT
   
   
 * Data Science+AI
   
   
   THINKING MACHINES: MAPPING HARD-TO-REACH AREAS AND CONNECTING COMMUNITIES TO
   RESOURCES
   
   Thinking Machines, Philippines
   
   
   10
   
   COUNTRIES OF DEPLOYMENT
   
   
   2,265,893
   
   UNIQUE B2C USERS
   
   
   24
   
   UNIQUE B2B USES
   
   
 * Data Science+AI
   
   
   PIXFRAME STUDIOS: GAME-BASED LEARNING TO ASSESS SKILLS AND TAILOR EDUCATIONAL
   CONTENT
   
   Pixframe Studios, Mexico
   
   
   800,000 USD
   
   REVENUE GENERATED
   
   
   1,170,000
   
   NO. OF CHILDREN REACHED
   
   
   04
   
   COUNTRIES OF DEPLOYMENT
   
   
 * Others
   
   
   SOMLENG: LOW-COST INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE SYSTEM FOR COMMUNITIES WITH LOW
   LITERACY LEVELS
   
   Somleng, Cambodia
   
   
   533,000
   
   NO. OF UNIQUE BENEFICIARY
   
   
   9
   
   COUNTRIES OF DEPLOYMENT
   
   
   9
   
   UNIQUE B2B USERS
   
   

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what we offer where we invest our application process contribution to open
source


WHAT WE OFFER

FUNDING

Up to 100,000 in seed funding and up to 400,000 in growth funding in USD and/or
cryptocurrency.
Funding details

The Venture Fund invests up to 100,000 in USD and/or cryptocurrency in
early-stage, open-source, frontier tech solutions in underserved markets to
validate, test, and shape technology that can potentially address large-scale
challenges for children. Solutions that graduate seed-stage funding and are
selected for growth funding can get up to 400,000 in USD and/or cryptocurrency
to scale their impact. 

SUPPORT

Tailored mentorship for the solution's requirements
Support details

The Fund provides tailored one-on-one mentoring with our in-house technical
experts based on the solution’s unique needs. This takes place throughout the
investment period and focuses on topics such as value proposition, Open Source
development, evidence of impact, business strategy,  product design, and
diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Learn more
ACCESS

Access to UNICEF network and partners
Access details

Startups can leverage our unique testing environments and pilot opportunities in
UNICEF country offices. We also provide access to our corporate partners for
potential follow-on funding.


WHERE WE INVEST

INVESTMENT MAP


WE INVEST IN LOCAL, ON THE GROUND PROBLEM SOLVERS

We are committed to creating impact by investing in companies working in
emerging tech markets

OPEN INVESTMENT MAP



OUR APPLICATION PROCESS

Select Tab
Early-stage funding Growth-stage funding
ELIGIBILITY CHECK

Month 0 Companies interested in applying to the Venture Fund need to check the
eligibility criteria

Eligibility faqs
click to open accordion Who can submit an Expression of Interest and what are
the eligibility criteria?

Projects are assessed by UNICEF Venture Fund team and recommended for funding to
the internal board.

Companies need to fulfill the following mandatory requirements to be considered
for funding: 

 * Be registered as a private for-profit company
 * Be registered in a UNICEF programme country. See the list of eligible
   countries here.
 * Have an existing prototype of the Open Source solution with promising results
   from initial pilots
 * Have the potential to positively impact the lives of the most vulnerable
   children.
 * Generate publicly exposed real-time data that is measurable.
 * Be working on a Open Source* frontier technology solution.

*Open source software is software that can be freely used, modified, and shared
(in both modified and unmodified form) by anyone. For a comprehensive
definition, see the Open Source Initiative's Definition.

If your solution isn't already Open Source when you apply, we expect it to be
made available as such. We recommend the following licenses:

 * Software: Choose from the Open Source Initiative approved licenses, such as
   one of the GNU public licenses, BSD license, or MIT license.
 * Hardware: CERN, MIT, or TAPR licenses.
 * Design or Content: CC-BY license.

Read more about the Request for Expression of Interest.

click to open accordion What kind of ideas and companies will the Venture Fund
support?

The UNICEF Venture Fund is looking for:

 * Solutions developing new technology
 * Solutions expanding/improving existing technologies and platforms (i.e. it
   will be in a place where the technology is being used but will involve new
   tech being built)
 * Solution is a new application or is piloting a new use case for an existing
   technology (i.e little or no new technology will be built and it will be used
   in the same place).

click to open accordion Do all components of the technology used or proposed to
be developed need to be Open Source? Can projects that use a combination of
technology products - some Open Source and some closed licenses - qualify to
receive funds from the Venture Fund?

To qualify for our investment, the solution you aim to get funded by us has to
be Open Source or you need to indicate you are willing to place it on an open
Open Source license.
 
We don’t require your whole company or all the technologies you develop to be
Open Source, but if your  solution you submitted receives our investment, it has
to have an Open Source license by month six of our investment period (one year).
The UNICEF team has Open Source mentorship that can help the startups in
choosing the most appropriate Open Source license.
 
Please note that solutions that meet all the criteria and are entirely Open
Source (from end-to-end; server to app; hardware to software etc.) will be given
priority in the selection process.
 
Using specific examples:
If there is a specific product, such as control software for a rover - that is
Open Source, it will meet the criteria.  If this product connects to a larger
ecosystem that is fully Open Source, then that is the best possible scenario.
 
If it connects to proprietary hardware, the assessment will look at how
independent the Open Source component is. i.e. what kind of applicability it
could have if applied to other scenarios. If the dependencies are too great on a
single and proprietary hardware element, it will get less traction.
 
For example, U-Report is a full (server-to-app) Open Source environment. It runs
on ‘proprietary’ hardware (i.e. mobile phones), but it runs on any phone because
it uses SMS. In this case, a market assessment and tech evaluation were done,
and a merging of proprietary and Open Source tools still made the global
application possible. The same could be true for UAV software (i.e. image
analysis): the Venture Fund could invest in a piece of software created that
could work on images from any drone. The hardware would still be proprietary,
but the tool we are investing in (and that we will put in the public domain) is
open.
 
The same applies to a mobile app. If an Open Source app connects only to a
proprietary server-side backend then the app would not qualify for investment.
We wouldn’t be able to reuse it.  In this case, the investment can be only for
very specific Open Source pieces of code and environment. This is more likely to
be successful than a bundle, as we can assess their viability easily.

click to open accordion Can a university submit an expression of interest for
the fund?

No. Only private companies are eligible.

click to open accordion Do I have to have a degree or a university qualification
to qualify?

No, team members don't need to have a degree or specific qualification. UNICEF
Venture Fund will assess the suitability of the team and key personnel to
implement the solution.

The team members’ formation and experience in similar projects will be an asset
for the Expression Of Interest.

click to open accordion If I am a student, can I submit an Expression Of
Interest for funding for a school/university project?

Individuals cannot submit Expressions Of Interest. The entity submitting an
expression of interest needs to be a private company legally registered.

click to open accordion If I am a non-profit organization or NGO can I submit an
Expression Of Interest tothe fund?

NGOs or CSOs are not eligible to submit an expression of interest for funding
through this investment vehicle. If you are a NGO or CSO working on a great
prototype, we suggest you to approach UNICEF country office in your country to
learn about other funding and partnership opportunities available. 

click to open accordion If my company is situated in a country that is not
included in the UNICEF Programme Countries list, am I still eligible to submit
an Expression Of Interest?

The company that submits the expression of interest needs to be registered in a
UNICEF Programme Country. If the company is partnered with one or more companies
in the country (ies) where the product or service will be used, it is
recommended that the expression of interest be submitted by the partner company
registered in the UNICEF Programme Country.

If the funding is awarded, the partner company registered in the UNICEF
Programme Country will enter into a contractual agreement with UNICEF and will
be accountable for all the contractual responsibilities with UNICEF.

click to open accordion Is it possible for NGOs to apply in collaboration with
companies?

In this case the company should be the entity submitting the REOI. The companies
submitting the REOI are asked to list partners and advisors and it is possible
to list an NGO as partner. UNICEF will issue Institutional Corporate Contracts
to the successful applicants and it is the company that bears all the
contractual responsibilities vis-a-vis UNICEF.

click to open accordion What does it mean to have a "working prototype"? Should
the whole solution be ready at the moment of application?

You are eligible to apply when you have an active prototype.

We consider an active prototype the one that works and has generated some
initial data to confirm this. You can expand or improve the prototype on the
basis of data generated during the investment period.

click to open accordion Is there a maximum or minimum number of team members
working on the project?

No, there is not a maximum or minimum.

click to open accordion Can I outsource the technical expertise in my venture?

Yes, but if the core team does not have the necessary technical expertise, the
company should explain in their expression of interest in the relevant questions
what type of technical expertise their partners or advisors are able to
provide. 

click to open accordion Why does each company need to provide real-time data
about its project?

To be eligible for funding, companies should be generating real-time data that
is publicly accessible and can be measured. If real-time data is not currently
being collected, the application will be evaluated based on the proposed plan to
set up, collect, display, and analyze such data during the project's
implementation. This plan must be clearly stated in the Expression of Interest.
If the funding request involves the development of new technology, real-time
data will be required to track the progress of the project. If the project seeks
support for the application or piloting of a solution, the real-time data should
demonstrate progress in that area.
This data will help share the company's progress and experiences with UNICEF and
other companies working in similar fields. The data will be displayed on a
publicly accessible real-time reporting website, showcasing the Fund's
performance, each portfolio's status, and information about each company or
project that has received investment. The website will also present stories
about each project.

 

click to open accordion My project is currently not Open Source but I’m willing
to Open Source it. What do I need to do to be able to be considered for funding?

In the Expression of Interest form, the company will be asked about the
licensing of the technology. We invest in Open Source technology solutions - or
willing to be. Open License means the following terms or their equivalent as
specified in the Project Design Statement and Budget:
 

 * For software, one of the Open Source Initiative approved licenses, like a GNU
   general public license, a BSD license or an MIT license,
 * For hardware, a CERN license, MIT license or TAPR license and
 * for design or content, a CC-BY license.

You can provide a timeline for going Open Source. It is recommended that you
supply as much information as possible to motivate how your idea will be Open
Source.

EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Month 1 Companies interested should complete an online application via the
Venture Fund website. The application form must include all required information
and supporting documents as indicated

Expression of interest faqs
click to open accordion Once a company is selected, what information are we
required to share?

The company will need to provide some type of real-time data that can be
accessed through Internet. The companies selected for funding will sign an
institutional contract with UNICEF.  The contract will be subject to the same
UNICEF terms and conditions that will be detailed in the RFP, which includes
requirements related to open source licensing of the solution.

click to open accordion What return does the fund look for from the investments
it has made?

The UNICEF Venture Fund does not seek a financial return nor does it take equity
- the Open Source code or hardware the company develops and tests is UNICEF’s
“equity”.

click to open accordion How do I determine if my venture is in the startup
phase?

In the initial phase of your project, you are considered to be in the startup
stage when you have a working prototype. At this point, you require a small
amount of money to demonstrate its functionality to others. Perhaps you need to
hire a couple of additional developers or seek design assistance to effectively
convey the capabilities of your project. You might also need server space or
refactor some parts into a different programming language to ensure scalability.
Conducting tests in new areas and collecting data points are also essential.
While these investments are not substantial, the Innovation Fund can provide
assistance to expedite your progress.

click to open accordion Can a firm submit multiple proposals?

An eligible company can submit more than one expression of interest for
different projects. Each will be assessed independently based on the criteria.
The funding cap will be applied to each application.

click to open accordion Where can I submit any other questions I have about the
REOI?

If you have any additional question about this REOI, please submit questions
through the Contact Us form. Answers to all questions submitted will be shared
publicly.

click to open accordion Can I submit an expression of interest from anywhere in
the world?

UNICEF Venture Fund only accepts submissions from companies registered in UNICEF
programme countries. See the list of countries here. 

click to open accordion How can we remain financially sustainable and make a
profit with an Open Source solution?

There are a number of sustainable business models built around Open Source
solutions. Open Source licenses do not necessarily compromise the sustainability
of your business. If you are willing to Open Source your technology, you can
still apply and indicate this in the submission.

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL

Month 2-3 The Venture Fund carefully assesses all applications. Shortlisted
companies will then be notified and invited to submit a comprehensive proposal
called the Request for Proposal (RFP)

Request for proposal faqs
click to open accordion Once a company is selected, what information are we
required to share?

The company will need to provide some type of real-time data that can be
accessed through Internet. The companies selected for funding will sign an
institutional contract with UNICEF.  The contract will be subject to the same
UNICEF terms and conditions that will be detailed in the RFP, which includes
requirements related to open source licensing of the solution.

click to open accordion What return does the fund look for from the investments
it has made?

The UNICEF Venture Fund does not seek a financial return nor does it take equity
- the Open Source code or hardware the company develops and tests is UNICEF’s
“equity”.

DEMO INTERVIEW

Month 4-5 Following a careful evaluation of the RFP, companies selected will be
invited to an online demo interview. This 30-minute interview offers the
opportunity to interact with the Venture Fund team and experts from our frontier
technology teams

ANNOUNCEMENT OF INVESTEES

Month 6 Upon evaluating the application, RFP, and demo interview, the Venture
Fund finalizes the investment decision and notifies selected companies.
Onboarding begins, and an official announcement is made on public channels.

Announcement of investees faqs
click to open accordion Once a company is selected, what information are we
required to share?

The company will need to provide some type of real-time data that can be
accessed through Internet. The companies selected for funding will sign an
institutional contract with UNICEF.  The contract will be subject to the same
UNICEF terms and conditions that will be detailed in the RFP, which includes
requirements related to open source licensing of the solution.

click to open accordion What return does the fund look for from the investments
it has made?

The UNICEF Venture Fund does not seek a financial return nor does it take equity
- the Open Source code or hardware the company develops and tests is UNICEF’s
“equity”.

click to open accordion How will I know if I have been accepted for funding?

Selected companies will be contacted with information about the outcome and next
steps.

click to open accordion If the company receives funding, does UNICEF own the
product or idea?

The funding from UNICEF Venture Fund is equity free. The company will be
requested to Open Source the IP of the product or idea funded and will be the
Open Source license holder. In addition, the real-time data collected will be
shared publicly. The company will own all other intellectual property.

click to open accordion If my company gets selected for funding, what is the
company’s legal status vis-a-vis UNICEF?

UNICEF will issue Institutional Corporate Contracts to the successful
applicants.The participating entity - a private company- needs to be legal
entities, meaning registered companies in order for UNICEF to have a contractual
relationship with them. The companies that are selected for funding will need to
register as a vendor/supplier with UNICEF. 

WHO CAN APPLY FOR GROWTH-STAGE FUNDING?

We only invest in growth-stage startups who have completed an early-stage
investment period with the Venture Fund. We review, select, and invite
high-performing graduates from our existing portfolio to apply for growth-stage
funding and support. 

EARLY-STAGE GRADUATION

Month 0 Growth-stage candidates must have completed Early-Stage investment
period with the Venture Fund to be eligible for Growth Funding.

INVITATION TO SUBMIT EOI

Month 1 The Venture Fund team specifically invites thriving startups to seek
growth-stage funding and submit an Expression of Interest (EOI).

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS

Month 2-3 Companies are shortlisted based on their Expressions of Interest and
asked to submit a Request for Proposal to be considered for Growth-funding.

SELECTION & ANNOUNCEMENT OF INVESTEES

Month 4 The Venture Fund selection panel evaluate and select the companies that
meet the established criteria. Selected companies are notified and the
onboarding process starts, accompanied by an official announcement shared in
public channels.



OUR CONTRIBUTION TO OPEN SOURCE

OPEN SOURCE COMMITMENT


WE EXCLUSIVELY INVEST IN OPEN SOURCE SOLUTIONS TO COLLECTIVELY BUILD DIGITAL
PUBLIC GOODS THAT CAN BENEFIT EACH INDIVIDUAL

 * 2188
   
   Commits
   
   AFINIDATA

 * 141
   
   Commits
   
   THINKING MACHINES

 * 168
   
   Commits
   
   PIXFRAME STUDIOS

 * 2640
   
   Commits
   
   SOMLENG

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APPLY FOR FUNDING

Complete an Expression of Interest in 30 minutes to apply for funding of up to
$100K and support from our team of mentors and specialists. 

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